Thursday's School Run and Amber's Surgery - and the Story of her Cheap Easter Bunny!!

My alarm went off at 6:00 this morning - but I was already awake!

Normally I stay in bed at least 45 minutes to an hour after I wake up but not today!

 I was up and getting with it right off the bat!

First I turned the coffee on. I found an extra Mr. Coffee at home and brought it over with me last night. While the coffee made, I dressed and while I had my first cup, I was putting on my make up. By 6:30 I was completely ready.

Amber didn't have to be at the hospital until 7:30 so she did the girls hair and supervised the morning routine. 

I made coffee for the girls and it was a wonderful morning.

They will be 10 next month and are so independent and responsible.

Amber and Mike left at 7:10 for the hospital and we all went to the car just as they were leaving the driveway. We all made a guess as to the exact time we would arrive at school and  Harrison nailed it - 7:30! That's a full 10 minutes before the bell!

Amber had asked me that morning if I remembered how to get to school and I laughed and said, "Of course, I do!"

You would think it'd be a no brainer to get back to their house!

Instead, the kids had turned the radio on and I was listening to the DJ as he was asking 5 questions of one of the listeners who had called in and I got so interested that I forgot where I was supposed to turn and when the music started playing, I thought I had driven too far.

I meandered around for a little but and then pulled over and put in the address on my WAZE program.....I was only 1 mile from the house!

Mike gave Amber a purple bunny he bought on clearance after Easter of 2012 while she was in the hospital for those 52 days before the quads were born.

Here he is carrying him in his backpack this morning as they were walking into the hospital.

Your can read the history of her purple Easter Bunny at(Quad Squad) Fitting a Cir cle into a Square!

She was digging around for her Bunny the evening before her surgery and found him in her closet - patiently waiting for when he would be needed again.

He's been with her every time she's had to go to the hospital and he was with her today.

This photo was right before they took back to the OR.

And this one was right after surgery.....which went very well.

Amber had a torn meniscus as well as a good bit of arthritis in her knee - but quite as much as it appeared to be on the x-rays - which is good!

They were back home before 1:00 and  Amber ate some lunch and wisely went to bed.

When I dropped the kids off this morning, I told them I would leave early so I could pick them up. Instead of staying in the car and driving through the pick up line, they  suggested I park and walk over and wait on the stone seats where they could see me when they came out,

That was fun! I gave them each a foil wrapped chocolate 'coin' when we went back to the car as their 'token' to ride!

I had good afternoon snacks ready when we came in!

Fresh veggies and Ranch, animal crackers and honey wheat pretzel sticks tipped with white chocolate.

They go to gymnastics class on Thursdays late afternoon and I tagged along to watch.

Very impressive!

They take tumbling and that was fun to watch - jumping on the trampoline and doing back flips and rolls and handstands.

I saw some kids walking on their hands with feet straight up in the air and others on the bars and then really small children doing cute routines.

We came home and I immediately got dinner ready while the kids showered.

4 kids showering and 3 have long think hair and this was a shampoo day!

Two 50-gallon hot water heaters have a hard time accommodating all that! 

Dinner served buffet style tonight!

Company mashed potatoes.

And Folks, this is the very last of that huge Easter brisket!!

Amber and the kids are in bed as I close out tonight's journal entry.

Mike is at one of his hockey games and I am about to shower and go to bed myself.

I did not take a nap today and I am so ready to go to sleep!

Morning comes VERY early here!

PS....I talked to Louis Dean a couple of times today and he is doing just fine without me.

He's not missing me yet - but he will!

By the time I get back down there he will be happy to see me and will have cooked and fried all his favorite foods and be ready to go back to healthy eating!